Staubbach Falls and Lauterbrunnen Valley

Lauterbrunnen Valley is a glacial U-shaped valley of sheer limestone walls about 12 kilometres south of Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, and it is often described as the valley of 72 waterfalls. The best known is Staubbach Falls, which drops 297 metres from a cliff directly above Lauterbrunnen village and breaks into spray before it reaches the ground. The poet Goethe wrote his poem Gesang der Geister über den Wassern after seeing the falls in 1779. The falls are a five-minute walk from Lauterbrunnen railway station on Bahnhofplatz, and a path leads up to a walkway behind the water, closed in winter. The village itself has a Gothic-style church, small museums, cafes and shops, and from it visitors can walk the flat valley floor along the Weisse Lütschine river for views of further falls, meadows and chalets. A walk toward Trümmelbach Falls takes about 40 minutes. Lauterbrunnen is also a starting point for cable cars and trains to Wengen, Mürren and the Schilthorn, and for the Wengernalp Railway to Kleine Scheidegg. A typical visit to the valley lasts two to four hours. Access is free and open 24 hours, and the falls are strongest from May to July during snowmelt. Morning light is good on the cliffs, while the valley can fill with day visitors by late morning in summer, particularly around the station and the main road. Trains from Interlaken Ost run roughly every 30 minutes and take about 20 minutes. Photographers often walk a short way south of the village for a wider view of the falls against the cliff, and winter brings frozen cascades but also icy paths.